Blue Nile Signature Ideal or Search for a Comparable Ideal

[guyruns134]

I am looking to buy a diamond for an engagement ring and I am planning on going with Blue Nile. I was thinking about getting one of their Signature Ideal stones, but from what I've seen around here, it is possible, with a little time commitment, to save a few dollars and look through the Ideal cut stones that are just as good as the Signature Ideals.

Here are my questions:
1) How can I find the highest quality Ideal cut stones? - What specifically am I looking for on the certificates?
2) What criteria does BN use to categorize a stone as Signature Ideal?
3) Why aren't all stones that would qualify to be Siganture Ideal listed as SI?
4) I saw something about H&A. What does this mean and where do I find the mark on the certificates?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Mrs W]

I would personally prefer to purchase else where but you can def get a great stone from bluenile. If you post you budget we could help you find a stone also use this https://www.pricescope.com/cutadviser.asp . You want the stones to have a 2 or below score. You could also post specs of the diamonds you are considering and pricescopers will tell you if they have potential or not. Bluenile does not offer IS images but other pricescope vendors do like:

http://www.highperformancediamonds.com/index.php?page=diamond-search
http://jamesallen.com/
http://www.whiteflash.com/
http://goodoldgold.com/

 

[Fly Girl]

Blue Nile''s Signature Ideal diamonds are ones that are in house and have had extra analyses done. It costs extra money to do all the tests, and so for most of their stones it hasn''t been done. It is possible to find a well cut stone among their "Ideal" grade and save yourself some money. But you won''t know for sure until you order it and have it checked by an independent appraiser.

 

[guyruns134]

I''m probalby looking right around $2000 for the diamond. I''ll probalby go with color G or above, and VS2 or better. I''m really looking to get a great stone and I know that cut is the most important aspect.

What are the trade offs between the vendors you listed? Price, reputation, amount of inormation, ect?

 

[Mrs W]

As for price Jamesallen takes that, they all have a great reputation here, they all have a ton of info but I think goodoldold, whiteflash and highperformancediamonds give the most info.

Are you looking looking for a round diamond?

This stone meets your criteria if you are searching for a round brilliant.

 

[guyruns134]

I am looking for a round diamond.

What should I be doing with all of the information that some of these websites are providing (ex. GOG)? I am learning a lot about diamonds, but these places are almost giving me an overload of information.

Also, how good are the cut graders that I can find through this site? What grades should I be looking for to compare with what BN would consider Signature Ideal?

 

[guyruns134]

I''ve been using the Holloway Cut Adviser and Gem Appraisers Cut Grading Report to find some stones that are rated Ideal on BN but would hold their own against their SI collection. Here are two that I''ve come up with:

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-vs2-clarity_LD01118144?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=1

This gets a 1.5 from the Holloway Cut Adviser, and a rating of 1A from Gem Appraisers with all categories being 1A except Girdle which is 1B


http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-d-color-vs2-clarity_LD01407011?filter_id=0

This gets a 1.3 from the Holloway Cut Adviser, and a rating of 1B from the Gem Appraisers, however all categories were 1A except Girdle which was 2B


Am I on the right track or am I totally misguided? If I am looking at this wrong, how should I be using the cut advisers online and what kind of grades should I be looking for from them? Is it realistic to think that I can find a diamond that will be listed as Ideal cut but would be just as well cut as the SI collection?

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 4/16/2009 12:34:05 AM
Author: guyruns134
I''ve been using the Holloway Cut Adviser and Gem Appraisers Cut Grading Report to find some stones that are rated Ideal on BN but would hold their own against their SI collection. Here are two that I''ve come up with:

http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-g-color-vs2-clarity_LD01118144?__fun_frm=i&filter_id=1

This gets a 1.5 from the Holloway Cut Adviser, and a rating of 1A from Gem Appraisers with all categories being 1A except Girdle which is 1B


http://www.bluenile.com/round-diamond-1-carat-or-less-ideal-cut-d-color-vs2-clarity_LD01407011?filter_id=0

This gets a 1.3 from the Holloway Cut Adviser, and a rating of 1B from the Gem Appraisers, however all categories were 1A except Girdle which was 2B


Am I on the right track or am I totally misguided? If I am looking at this wrong, how should I be using the cut advisers online and what kind of grades should I be looking for from them? Is it realistic to think that I can find a diamond that will be listed as Ideal cut but would be just as well cut as the SI collection?

You are definitely on the right track, both diamonds look good.